Beware the Jabberwock
by hadaka
Summary: The jaws that bite, the claws that catch. AU, otherfamily!Sena.
1. 1

**Disclaimer:** Do. Not. Own.

**Warnings:** Nothing much right now, but it's going to get creepy soon. **AU**, drastically different course of events.

**A/N: **I think this is me spiraling away into madness.

* * *

When Sena was eight-years-old, he met a girl named Anezaki Mamori. She was a year older than he was and went to a different school, but lived nearby. He didn't have any idea why she came to sit next to him at the park, or why she paid so much attention to him when they saw each other while walking home, but it didn't matter. No one else talked to him, and he wanted not to be alone anymore so much that it didn't occur to him to be suspicious. Two weeks after she talked to him for the first time at the convenience store, Sena was calling her Mamo-nee and living for those few minutes after school and on the weekends when he could see her.

Then Agon told him, "Stop talking to that half-breed trash."

He didn't know how Agon had found out. "But..."

The glare he got in return made his eyes fill with tears even as it silenced him.

But he didn't stop talking to Mamo-nee. He couldn't. She was the only person who didn't ignore him, didn't shift uneasily away when he came too close. Everyone else who knew him wanted nothing to do with him, and Sena couldn't turn away the one person willing to reach out to him despite everything. He _couldn't_.

He didn't know why Mamo-nee seemed to be exempt from the effect of his family name, but he hoped she would never know better.

Later, when Sena was fourteen-years-old, Mamo-nee presented him with a handwritten study guide for Deimon Senior Private High School's entrance exam.

"I know you'll get in, Sena," she told him. "Your grades are good, and you've never been in trouble. I'll tutor you for the exam if you need it."

Sena looked at Mamo-nee, his closest and only friend for six years, even though they'd gone to different schools. He looked at the study guide in his hand, a stack of papers tied with red string and the words _Go for it, Sena!_ written in red ink at the top.

He'd never wanted anything more in his life.

That night, Sena watched as Agon tore the study guide to pieces with two casual turns of his wrists and then tossed the ball of paper into the trash can. Unsui frowned, but said nothing.

"You've got two months," said Agon. "Unko-chan will tutor you. You don't get in, you answer to me. Got it, beggar?"

Sena looked at Unsui, but not because he expected Unsui to help him. He was looking at the application Unsui had in his hand, the application for Shinryuji Private Senior High School. Sena could see that the boxes had already been filled out.

Unsui wouldn't look at him.

"You hear me, beggar?" repeated Agon, and Sena was aware of _danger_ leaning over him, of the hand on the back of his chair and the threat implied in the fist with the knuckles pressed flat on the table in front of him.

"Yes, _oniisama_," said Sena, and kept his eyes on the table when Agon's hand came down on his head, the fingers raking through his hair, an affectionate gesture that was painful enough that Sena had to bite his lip to stop himself from whimpering.


	2. 2

**Disclaimer:** Do. Not. Own.

**Warnings:** Nothing much right now, but it's going to get creepy soon. **AU**, drastically different course of events.

* * *

When Sena was six-years-old, his parents died and took everything with them, including his name.

There was a man standing in the courtyard of his grandparents' large house. There was a small rock garden and a stone wall and Sena was clinging to his grandmother, hiding his face in her kimono, and the man was shouting, _He's my son, you won't keep him from me!_

"Please," said Granny, "he's still so young, he can't understand. Please, if you'll just—"

"He's _my_ son," said the man. "She had no right to keep him from me and neither do you! I have a court order!"

Granny's hands were shaking. Sena would remember that for the rest of his life, the feel of his grandmother's trembling hands in his hair.

Sena didn't understand until much, much later that the man whose name he had been born with had not been his father. Kobayakawa Shuma was the name on his birth certificate, but Shuma had not been his father. This was a difficult problem for Sena to work out by himself, and he didn't understand what it meant until he was eleven, and even then it was only because Agon took the trouble of explaining to him, with a cruel turn of his mouth, _The old lady ran off with her dick on the side while she was pregnant with you, idiot. Left us with the old man and split. She'd have flushed you too if the other guy hadn't convinced her not to. There's how much Mommy loved you._

But when Sena was six, he knew nothing of that—couldn't have known, even if someone had tried to explain it to him—and what he remembered was that loud, shouting man pulling Sena out of his grandmother's arms and carrying him away, telling him sternly, _Stop that crying._

Father—for that was who it was, a tall, black-haired, black-eyed man Sena was supposed to call _Father_—told him that a lot. _Stop that crying. Do you see your brother crying all the time? Stop that whining. Be like your brother._

The first time he met his brothers, he didn't understood that that was who they were. He was exhausted and stiff from a five-hour car ride, drained from crying and choked with the strain of trying not to cry again. The loud man carried him in from the car, holding him almost indifferently, and when the man put Sena down, Sena was standing on shaky legs in front of two older, bigger boys he was immediately nervous of.

"Agon," said the man, "Unsui. This is Sena."

They stared at him, those two boys. Sena lifted his tear-stained face and stared at them, too, forgetting to be shy, because these two boys looked exactly alike and he couldn't have told them apart if they hadn't been wearing different clothes.

"He'll live with us from now on," said Father. "I expect you to treat each other like brothers."

One boy raised an eyebrow, his mouth curving into a smile that was attentive and respectful. The other boy nodded, and looked at Sena with eyes neither mean nor kind.

A door closed behind Father and then the boy with the smile took a handful of Sena's hair in his fist and pulled it.

"You don't belong here," said the boy. "You're only here because Dad felt sorry for you, _beggar_. Don't you forget it."

The other boy frowned. "That's too much, Agon."

"You shut up," said Agon.

Sena whimpered at the grip on his hair, and tears filled his eyes. He put his hands, so much smaller, pleadingly on Agon's.

Agon made a disgusted face, but he let go.

The room that was to be Sena's was still a playroom for the older boys, cluttered with new and shiny playthings, including bikes and game consoles and a TV, things Sena had never even thought about wanting. There was no place to even put down a futon.

"You can sleep with your brother tonight," said Father. "We'll get you a bed tomorrow."

Agon looked at Sena and gave him a big, bright smile. Sheer terror made Sena clutch at the sleeves of his shirt with shaking fingers.

"I'll share with him, Father," said Unsui. "I don't mind."

"Ah, see," said Father, "that's what I want to hear from an older brother. You hear that, Sena? It's already like you all grew up together, isn't it?"

Agon rolled his eyes behind Father's back. Unsui ignored him and took Sena's hand. "Come on. You can wear some of my pajamas."

"Maybe someday you two can get _married_," said Agon.

Unsui was only a year older than Sena, but much bigger. Sena had to fold the sleeves and the legs of the blue pajamas several times to keep them off the floor, and even fastening all the buttons barely kept it from hanging off his shoulders. Unsui helped him.

The room was neat and clean and organized. The desk was high and stacked with workbooks and readers. Sena had never seen anything so spotless and tidy as Unsui's room. Unsui even carefully folded Sena's clothes and laid them on his desk chair.

"You should ignore Agon," said Unsui, as he led the way to the bathroom. "He'll get used to you being around sooner or later. Just don't make him angry."

Sena waited for Unsui to tell him exactly _how_ to do that, but there was nothing more. Unsui helped Sena wash his hair and sat with him in the furo and then they dressed in their pajamas and went back to Unsui's room. It was late, but as they passed the playroom, Sena could hear someone inside, playing a fighting game.

The bed was long and wide and there was more than enough space for two little boys, especially when one was as small as Sena. Unsui let him take the side against the wall, saying to wake him up if Sena needed the bathroom, and then he turned off the light.

Sena laid there in the dark, listening to Unsui breathe and trying not to make a single sound. He wanted so much to cry, but he didn't want to bother Unsui, not after Unsui had been so nice to him. He had so many questions, but it was dark and he was supposed to be sleeping and the bed was strange and the light coming through the blinds on the window was strange and he wished Granny was there to tuck him in, he wished he could go to the room down the hall and get into bed with Mommy and Daddy and sleep safe and quiet...

"Sena-kun," came the whisper, almost in his ear. "I know you're sad. If you want to cry, I won't tell. Promise."

The tears rushed to his eyes and Sena couldn't do anything about it. He cried as quietly as he could, with his hands and arms over his face, miserable and scared and unable to understand why he had to be here, in Unsui's room, when he had his own pajamas and futon at Granny's.

Unsui turned the other way and didn't say anything, and Sena couldn't tell from the shape of his back if he was asleep or not.


	3. 3

**Disclaimer:** Do. Not. Own.

**Warnings:** Nothing much right now, but it's going to get creepy soon. **AU**, drastically different course of events.

* * *

Emptied, the playroom was a new room entirely, with a new bed and a new desk and a new chair. There were drawers full of new clothes, all slightly too big, and a bookcase full of new books, all too difficult for Sena. The sheets and blankets were white, like Unsui's, and most of the clothes were blue. There was a brand new black coat that looked exactly like Unsui's.

Sena recognized nothing in the room. It was like a stranger's. There was nothing of his from before. Even the clothes he'd arrived in were taken from him, and he didn't know what happened to them.

"You're a Kongo," said Father. "Put those things out of your mind."

Sena didn't want to put anything out of his mind. He wanted his small room down the hall from Mommy and Daddy. He wanted his old hand-me-down desk that Granny said Daddy had used when he was little. He wanted his old clothes, the things Mommy had picked out for him from the department store. He wanted the wooden toys Grandad made for him. He wanted his new kitten, the one Daddy had brought home on Sena's birthday after he'd begged for months and months.

He wanted to go home.

"You _are_ home," said Unsui, not unkindly. "Those weren't your real grandparents, and your old house is probably sold already. This is home."

"But if you want to live on the street," said Agon, "or go to an orphanage, just keep it up, beggar."

Sena stopped crying where anyone could see him. Father didn't like it, and got angry and loud. Agon didn't like it, and would hit him or pinch him or say awful things or all of them at once. Unsui didn't seem to know what to do and would put his hand on Sena's arm and wait for him to stop, looking very uncomfortable.

So Sena cried at night, when he was in the new bed with the new pillow over his face, trying to be quiet and wishing very hard that Granny would come and get him soon, or maybe even Mommy and Daddy, when they finally got back from wherever they'd gone. He didn't like his stiff new clothes, he didn't like his new, unfamiliar room, and he didn't want new brothers, especially if one of them was Agon.

"Tomorrow, we'll go and enroll you at the elementary school here," said Father. "The same one your brothers go to."

Agon's eyes on him made Sena feel cold. Unsui looked at him, but with something like a frown.

"You know how to introduce yourself, don't you? Let's hear it."

Sena put down his chopsticks and tried to straighten his back. "Um, h-hello, I'm Koba-Kobayakawa—"

Father's open hand hitting the table almost split Sena's tongue down the middle. He went absolutely still, face almost white, clutching at his knees with terror.

Agon's eyes were on him, but Sena couldn't understand the expression on his face. Unsui looked at the table.

"You are a Kongo," said Father, his voice cold, cold, cold. "I don't want to hear that name again."

Sena wanted to say he was sorry, but nothing came out. An urge to cry made the back of his throat hot but he swallowed hard and didn't.

They looked at him from across the table, that tall man with such black hair and black eyes and Agon and Unsui with their matching faces. Sena could feel their eyes on him even with his head lowered, and he wished he could ask someone how his name could be Kongo now when he'd been born a Kobayakawa, his parents' name was Kobayakawa, but something about those eyes made him stay quiet, something made him bite his tongue and look at no one.


	4. 4

**Disclaimer:** Do. Not. Own.

**Warnings:** Nothing much right now, but it's going to get creepy soon. **AU**, drastically different course of events.

* * *

The next morning, Father took them to school in his car and he went with Sena to the principal's office. When Sena met his homeroom teacher, he bowed and said, very correctly, "Hello, I'm Kongo Sena."

He was introduced to the class as a new student and his face flushed as the other children stared at him. He wondered if they could tell that everything he was wearing was slightly too big for him, that Unsui had helped him label all of his things only that morning, that his black backpack was one that Agon had bought for himself only a month ago and gotten tired of since.

"Sena-kun...Sena-chan? Hey, Sena-chan, where did you move here from? Hey, Sena, you're too short, are you sure you're six?"

They stood around his desk at lunch, a few girls and some boys. None of them looked mean. They examined him with friendly eyes, glancing over the new clothes, the new bag, the new shoes.

"Um," said Sena shyly, "I—"

The door to the classroom banged open.

"Oh, _Sena_," said Agon, "here you are."

The children at his desk scattered. Agon walked over without looking at them and Sena's eyes widened at the warm smile Agon gave him.

"I just came to make sure you were doing all right," said Agon, but his voice was loud and confident and Sena couldn't tell who Agon was talking to, even if Agon seemed to be looking at him. _"Little brother."_

_Unsui,_ thought Sena, but he didn't know why. Then, _Mommy._

"It's so hard being new," said Agon, looking at Sena but not quite speaking to him. "I know. You need time." A sharp, sharp smile. "I know everyone's going to _leave you alone_ until I say it's okay. Because I'm your _big brother_."

That smile, full of teeth and a sort of meanness that Sena could see but not understand. The other children were staring, at Agon, at him, and then Agon glanced around the classroom, almost happily, and then he left, banging the door closed as he did.

Sena started breathing again.

The classroom was quiet. No one spoke. Some of the girls were whispering in the back. When Sena looked at a few of the nearer boys, the same ones who had come over to introduce themselves earlier, none of them would meet his eyes.

_He's _that_ Kongo,_ he heard someone hiss.

But several of the girls were looking at him sympathetically, and one even smiled when their eyes met. Hope filled Sena's heart.

At dismissal, Sena was at the cubbyholes changing his shoes when he heard someone say _His mom ran away, he's not even really related to them._

Sena's stomach clenched horribly, and he thought he was going to throw up. He looked over, and several of the boys were staring at him, and only a few of them turned away, embarrassed.

The girls were whispering. Sena couldn't bring himself to look at them.

"Sena," called Unsui, and Sena hurried to him where he was waiting at the front doors. Agon wasn't there, and Unsui offered no explanation.

The walk home was longer than Sena was used to, and there were many turns and crosswalks. Sena wished Unsui would give him his hand, but Unsui didn't, not even when crossing the street. After ten minutes, Sena fell back a few steps and this made Unsui stop and wait for him to catch up. "Are you tired?"

"I'm sorry."

Unsui looked at him for several seconds, saying nothing. Sena looked at the ground.

"Did Agon do something?" asked Unsui.

Sena shook his head.

Another few seconds passed in silence, Sena looking at the sidewalk and Unsui looking at Sena, and then Unsui turned and started walking again. Sena followed.

Unsui's backpack was black, too, but the buckles were scratched and worn. Sena kept his eyes on those buckles as they walked, and the bright yellow hat on Unsui's head, a bigger version of the one Sena was wearing.

Two more crosswalks later, when they turned down a residential street that was mostly empty, Sena took a breath and said, "Um, Un-Unsui-san?"

Unsui stopped and turned. He was frowning. "You shouldn't call me that."

Sena stared at him, at a loss. What else could he call him?

A sigh, then, and Unsui shook his head. "What is it?"

Sena pulled his shoulders back and tried to keep his head up. He couldn't back down now. "I was...I was just wondering..."

Unsui waited.

"Do you...do you think Mommy and Daddy will come get me soon?"

He said it almost under his breath, with trepidation, his head lowering almost despite himself. Would Unsui get angry, like Father did? Sena knew he wasn't supposed to talk about Mommy and Daddy, but—he had to know. And Unsui was the only one who hadn't hurt him or yelled at him or had been mean to him yet. Maybe Unsui would tell him and not shout or get angry.

Except Unsui was just standing there, looking at him, with the strangest expression on his face, even stranger than the one on Agon's when Sena had used his old name without knowing he couldn't.

Sena bit his lip, nervous. Unsui wasn't answering. "Unsui-san...?"

Unsui blinked, and then his mouth pressed into a line. "Sena..."

Sena's eyes widened.

"Sena..." Unsui shifted his weight from foot to foot. "What do you think happened to Mom and...I mean, what do you think happened to your parents?"

Mom? But why should Unsui call Sena's Mommy _his_ Mom? Sena's eyebrows lowered as he tried to think. "Um...there was a car accident, and...and..." Sena frowned. "Granny said they went away...Father said they...died. But..."

Sena hesitated again, to see if Unsui was getting mad. But Unsui didn't say anything.

There was an aching place in Sena's stomach. He was ashamed to feel the tears filling his eyes, and misery made him whimper, "I don't know why they haven't come to get me."

Nothing. Unsui said nothing and they stood there, Sena with his eyes on the street under his new shoes, under Unsui's. He wanted to look at Unsui but he was afraid that if he lifted his face, the tears would come spilling out, and Unsui always got very quiet when Sena cried. Sena didn't want Unsui to get quiet now, not when he was about to tell him when Mommy and Daddy would come to take him home.

What if Unsui was upset? What if he told Father that Sena had been talking about Mommy and Daddy, and Father got angry, and then he would yell at Sena so loudly. Sena almost wished he hadn't said anything. What if Unsui stopped being nice to him? Unsui, who was the only one who didn't seem to think that everything Sena said and did was wrong, who didn't shout at Sena and didn't tell him mean things and didn't kick him under the table and didn't push him into the wall as he passed...

Someone took Sena's hand.

"Sena," said Unsui, and it was Unsui's hand, it was Unsui holding his hand, "Sena, listen. I think...I think you're not going to see your parents for a while. Okay? I think...it might be a really long while."

A clenched, awful feeling made Sena's chest hurt. He clung to Unsui's hand without meaning to. "I won't?"

"No." Unsui was looking straight at him, his gray eyes calm. "They would if they could, but...but they can't."

Sena couldn't breathe. He wanted to wail. He wanted to put his head under a pillow and cry as loud as he wanted. He wanted to hide somewhere, or just disappear. But none of it would come out, because he couldn't breathe.

"But," said Unsui, "don't be scared, okay? I'm here."

The tears made it hard to see. Sena struggled not to sob. "You are?"

"Yeah." The hand tightened around Sena's. "I'm your big brother. I'll take care of you."

Something soft touched Sena's face, rubbed at his eyes. Unsui had taken the end of one sleeve in his free hand and was carefully wiping Sena's eyes where they were wet.

He had never had anyone but Mommy do that for him before. And for Unsui to tell him that he wasn't alone, that there was someone there who would help him, to have someone hold his hand and tell him not to be scared—

Sena looked up at Unsui with his heart in his eyes, and didn't move while Unsui wiped away the rest of his tears.


End file.
